I am a screenwriter.
I have never had a script made into a movie, never sold a script. Hell, I haven't even written a script, but I am a screenwriter.
So far, in about three weeks of actual writing, I have gotten about one-third of my first script, Oui Madame, on 'paper'.
I have no idea if I will sell it; no idea if it will ever get made into a movie; no idea what it will be called if it gets that far. Geez, I don't even know if I will get credit. Maybe William Goldman will re-write it. Maybe it will get made. Maybe it will star Jennifer Lawrence, Helen Mirren and Daniel Craig. Maybe it will even be called Oui Madame. Nope. no idea.
I do know this. It will get written.
I have the story completely written. In my head. What I am working on now is getting the story out of my head. This is easier said than done, of course, but consider that before wrote I wrote a single word, I had been thinking about it for more than a year.
Many nights I went to sleep, thinking about how the story would begin, unfold and end. I spent a lot of time in traffic, commuting to work at UT, then running errands at Valentina's, thinking about this. By the time I had it fully worked out in my head, I started to think I was obsessed, and that if I didn't get it out, I'd just go crazy.
I decided to not go crazy, but in typical form, I decided to make a plan.
The Plan: 1) Move to Paris; 2) Write screenplay; 3) Sell screenplay; 4) Write another screenplay.
So, here I am, at step 2).
I have, as I said, written what looks to be about a third of the play. I've also spent a lot of time learning about how to write from online classes, watched a lot of movies (not one a day as I hoped, but at least 3-5 a week) and read a few books and screenplays.
Of course, that's like nothing. It is nothing. Not 10,000 hours. Hell, maybe not even that many minutes. I know. Newb.
One book I am reading--of course not finished--is by William Goldman, who is recognized as one of the great screenwriters of the last half of the 20C. He wrote The Princess Bride, which is the best film I have ever seen. It could have its own channel on TV. I'd tune in every day.
Goldman also wrote a lot of other screenplays (and novels, which he adapted for the screen). You look them up. This isn't a biography of Goldman.
Adventures in the Screen Trade is a dated book (1983), so a lot has changed since it was written. Some things have not. Hollywood still rules the film industry, and even though there are a lot more opportunities out there (Amazon, Netflix, etc) for new screenwriters than there were just a few decades ago, most Goldman's advice so far has been sound and encouraging. At least that's how I see it.
One of the most important things I have learned from this book (and Sorkin's class) has been that whatever I write, it will not be made into a movie.
It will certainly not be made into the movie that I have envisioned, not the one in my head, not the one hardly one-third written.
On the other hand...
If I am lucky, someone will buy this script.
If I am lucky, I'll get an agent.
If I am lucky, I'll get a chance to write my second script--the one that will win the Academy Award.
Ah. I am not in a casino, but I am gambling. I am gambling with the time, money and health I have left in my life. I am gambling with my family and friends. It's all on the line here and now.
So what will it be? Red or black?
I have never had a script made into a movie, never sold a script. Hell, I haven't even written a script, but I am a screenwriter.
So far, in about three weeks of actual writing, I have gotten about one-third of my first script, Oui Madame, on 'paper'.
I have no idea if I will sell it; no idea if it will ever get made into a movie; no idea what it will be called if it gets that far. Geez, I don't even know if I will get credit. Maybe William Goldman will re-write it. Maybe it will get made. Maybe it will star Jennifer Lawrence, Helen Mirren and Daniel Craig. Maybe it will even be called Oui Madame. Nope. no idea.
I do know this. It will get written.
I have the story completely written. In my head. What I am working on now is getting the story out of my head. This is easier said than done, of course, but consider that before wrote I wrote a single word, I had been thinking about it for more than a year.
Many nights I went to sleep, thinking about how the story would begin, unfold and end. I spent a lot of time in traffic, commuting to work at UT, then running errands at Valentina's, thinking about this. By the time I had it fully worked out in my head, I started to think I was obsessed, and that if I didn't get it out, I'd just go crazy.
I decided to not go crazy, but in typical form, I decided to make a plan.
The Plan: 1) Move to Paris; 2) Write screenplay; 3) Sell screenplay; 4) Write another screenplay.
So, here I am, at step 2).
I have, as I said, written what looks to be about a third of the play. I've also spent a lot of time learning about how to write from online classes, watched a lot of movies (not one a day as I hoped, but at least 3-5 a week) and read a few books and screenplays.
Of course, that's like nothing. It is nothing. Not 10,000 hours. Hell, maybe not even that many minutes. I know. Newb.
One book I am reading--of course not finished--is by William Goldman, who is recognized as one of the great screenwriters of the last half of the 20C. He wrote The Princess Bride, which is the best film I have ever seen. It could have its own channel on TV. I'd tune in every day.
Goldman also wrote a lot of other screenplays (and novels, which he adapted for the screen). You look them up. This isn't a biography of Goldman.
Adventures in the Screen Trade is a dated book (1983), so a lot has changed since it was written. Some things have not. Hollywood still rules the film industry, and even though there are a lot more opportunities out there (Amazon, Netflix, etc) for new screenwriters than there were just a few decades ago, most Goldman's advice so far has been sound and encouraging. At least that's how I see it.
One of the most important things I have learned from this book (and Sorkin's class) has been that whatever I write, it will not be made into a movie.
It will certainly not be made into the movie that I have envisioned, not the one in my head, not the one hardly one-third written.
On the other hand...
If I am lucky, someone will buy this script.
If I am lucky, I'll get an agent.
If I am lucky, I'll get a chance to write my second script--the one that will win the Academy Award.
Ah. I am not in a casino, but I am gambling. I am gambling with the time, money and health I have left in my life. I am gambling with my family and friends. It's all on the line here and now.
So what will it be? Red or black?
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